Why the Wait is Necessary Sometimes....

It's funny how God sends just the person you need to say just the thing you need to hear at just the right time.  Today I found myself having a major moment of frustration over that small fact of not yet having a date set for the wedding.  Now let me clarify that the frustration wasn't truly so much over the fact itself that a date has yet to be decided on, it was more the fact that everyone and their brother seemed determined to remind me of it while asking in the normal well meaning, interested way that the average person expresses at the moment they realize you are engaged.  I don't presume to imagine that everyone and their brother intended to remind me of the fact that I am in a state of limbo right now, but that is what happened.  To the point that when my new optometrist inquired as to a date for my upcoming nuputials I found myself feeling rather frustrated at responding for what I'm sure was the 25th time in an 8 hour period "We haven't set a date yet..."  It sent me into a little bit of a funk for a while that really didn't go away in a hurry.  A few moments later I was debating removing my engagement ring to save myself the questions that it would remind people to ask which would once more prompt the response that was becoming so frustrating.  (I don't claim to be rational when I'm in a funk, I just try to survive it)  Of course the thought occurred to me that I was being childish at that reaction (ok and the reality is I like the way my diamond sparkles..) and found myself asking God why?  Why did people need to keep reminding me that once more I'm stuck in this waiting mode waiting for some unknown moment to happen that decrees that yes, child you may marry on this day.  Kind of brings to mind medieval times when the king had to approve the marriages of the nobility...  Anyway I'm stuck in this frustrating funk that just leaves me feeling off for no apparent good reason.  Then something happens...  A new person notices the shiny sparkly piece of jewelry on my left hand.  Of all the people through the day to notice the moment Kathy noticed was my blessing in disguise.  It was a reminder of how others have experienced the romance that is mine and Dustin's.  You see, early on in the story that is ours I was struggling...  I had a moment when I was wondering if I really wanted to put the effort into the relationship that I could see it was going to take.  I was questioning whether I had that much to give to anyone.  It was a moment that sent me out of a church service into the narthex of the church where I couldn't stop myself.  I sat on a seat and cried and cried and then cried some more.  Kathy and I had chatted in passing before that moment, but seeing the hurt and confusion I was experiencing in the moment she was there to just sit.  That was really mostly all that she did.  Oh, she had a few well said observations to make, but for the most part it was just being a presence.  With very few words she let me know by just being there that she cared.  Today when Kathy noticed the beautiful sparkling symbol of love and commitment I'd been given her excitement and the reminder that since that day we sat together in October when she was just there as a needed presence she had been praying for Dustin and I and our relationship was the reminder that I needed that these moments happen so relationships grow just a little deeper in unexpected places...  Again a reminder that God has pieces to this story he's working on that I can't see.  That yes, the relationship, the wedding date, the planning and preparation all have an intricate timing that I can never understand completely from where I stand, but it's important.  As difficult as it can be getting to the moments like those with Kathy, it results in a connection that reminds me I'm loved more than I can imagine, not only by God, but by those special people in my life like Kathy that are quietly in the background holding me up in prayer.